On another note, does anyone know what the former player count was and what it is now?

Don't think they've released numbers since F2P yet, too early really. It's definitely more crowded in every instance than before F2P, but that doesn't really tell the whole story, since they merged servers into superservers, so obviously it's gonna be crowded. I think there's definitely an influx of new players and returning players, but how significant it is and if it's going to maintain those numbers, that's something that we'll only know somewhere down the line.

im annoyed that my debit card isn't working to resubscribe...i HATE not having all the toolbars it's such a damn nuisance.

Battle is a pure form of expression. It is heart and discipline, reduced to movement and motion. In battle, the words are swept away, giving way to actions-- mercy, sacrifice, anger, fear. These are pure moments of expression.

You'll have to ask yourself what the point of you playing the game is. Is it to get your character to lv50 and then go through all of the endgame content, several flashpoints a week, raids/operations, lots of pvp/warzones? If it's any of those things, then subscribing is for you because, while they're available to F2P folks, they're limited.

Doing anything else in the game? Don't really care if you miss out on some cosmetic things and some small things that make things a little more convenient? Then F2P is the way to go... and if there are specific things that you'd like to take advantage of, become a Preferred Player by buying something worth at least 5USD from the swtor store. Other things can be bought using cartel coins if you choose. Still cheaper than subscribing.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with F2P, it's a really good system that lets you play the game without any real restrictions, just a little bit of inconvenience when compared to what subscribers get.

So is playing TOR basically pointless unless you're subscribing for all of the perks?

No... Helped a smuggler yesterday with his/her class mission Corellia. He/She was level 48 and had gotten there without sub or buying any Cartel Coins. The smuggler said he/she had to grind some to stay leveled properly, but as a subscriber I had to do the same thing with my scoundrel. He/She said it was no problem leveling and 2 bars were more than enough up to that point.

Not every ability needs to be on your quick bar. He/She hadn't decided if he/she would continue with after 50 stuff, but was planning on rolling a knight next. Could have just been saying that because the nice, pink knight was killing his/her boss.

So no, at least according to someone that has leveled a toon to 48 and finished their class story, it is not pointless to go f2p. Like Lynk wrote, it is pointless if you want to do after 50 stuff.

You can play free but you'll be spending an inordinate amount of time and effort on bothersome stuff.

Plus (just as examples) you don't get the coolest things be they cosmetic or gameplay related. So you can meet someone equal level but expect that you will lose hard since you only have 2/3rds of the skills, half the carry space, crappier gear, and all the really lucrative daily missions are not available...oh and most of the fun missions that don't put you into snorefest? Yeah those are either off limits or severely hindered.

I don't imagine SWTOR being much different from flash games in that regard.

I already intend to sub since I have the CE, but I suppose I'll just get my start on F2P...

After I can get my new machine up and running of course. Any action to be taken on this is at least 4 months out if not longer. So after completion, probably about a year from now more or less...One can hope...

We'll murder them all, amid laughter and merriment...except for the few we take home to experiment!

You can play free but you'll be spending an inordinate amount of time and effort on bothersome stuff.

Actually, if you finish all sidequests, your exactly the right level (up till 30 atleast, there with zbyl).
As subscriber you get twice the XP. But the only result of that is that you quickly outlevel your opposition.
I hardly call actual sidemissions a grind or bothersome.

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So you can meet someone equal level but expect that you will lose hard since you only have 2/3rds of the skills, half the carry space, crappier gear, and all the really lucrative daily missions are not available...oh and most of the fun missions that don't put you into snorefest? Yeah those are either off limits or severely hindered.

Let's see...
* Progression is the same. F2P have the same amount of skills and powers, so, no, not that.
* Half-the-carry-space is true. But overall it's filled with junk anyway. I never ran out. And if I did, just drop some junk.
* Crappier gear. So far (30) I only found a single purple item (which I cannot use), which had pretty horrible stats. So far, not noticing it thus.
* Daily missions and weekly missions are all there. You're limited on warzones of course, but the world bosses? Nothing stopping you.
* Fun missions. All missions but operations are in. Are those the only fun quests in the game? If so, that's a massive failure of it's own. I don't think so. Even with too much combat, the dialogue saves it somewhat. I like roleplaying. Enough to overcome gameplay apparently.

You can play free but you'll be spending an inordinate amount of time and effort on bothersome stuff.

Incorrect. You get some upgrades later, like the speeder piloting later, but it's still earlier than when people originally got their speeder licenses when the game started. Stuff is still a hell of a lot more convenient for F2P folks than it was for subscribers that started with the game.

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Plus (just as examples) you don't get the coolest things be they cosmetic or gameplay related

Partially incorrect, you can still get cool stuff, just not cool end game stuff and gear that'll allow you to do the really high end operations... since if you really cared about that kind of stuff, you'd subscribe anyway.

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So you can meet someone equal level but expect that you will lose hard since you only have 2/3rds of the skills

Incorrect.

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half the carry space

If you mean quickbars, that's being upgraded soon.

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crappier gear, and all the really lucrative daily missions are not available...

For endgame, yes... but like I said, if you were interested in endgame operations to begin with, you'd subscribe.

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oh and most of the fun missions that don't put you into snorefest? Yeah those are either off limits or severely hindered.

Limited, yes. Off limits, no. Though I don't really know what you mean by fun missions since that varies from person to person.

Actually, if you finish all sidequests, your exactly the right level (up till 30 atleast, there with zbyl).
As subscriber you get twice the XP. But the only result of that is that you quickly outlevel your opposition.
I hardly call actual sidemissions a grind or bothersome.

Really? They actually balanced it out? This is looking better.

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Let's see...
* Progression is the same. F2P have the same amount of skills and powers, so, no, not that.

Oh good.

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* Half-the-carry-space is true. But overall it's filled with junk anyway. I never ran out. And if I did, just drop some junk.

Ok, on par. Useless junk, or just stuff that will sit around until maybe you can use it--not usually until much later?

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* Crappier gear. So far (30) I only found a single purple item (which I cannot use), which had pretty horrible stats. So far, not noticing it thus.

Hm.

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* Daily missions and weekly missions are all there. You're limited on warzones of course, but the world bosses? Nothing stopping you.

Well now that sounds promising. I'm so used to free status of most games having so little of any real "action".

That or they'd structure raids or bosses such that you could only beat the easy path and get the crappy ending/results on freebie. So no jipping like this for F2P?

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* Fun missions. All missions but operations are in. Are those the only fun quests in the game? If so, that's a massive failure of it's own. I don't think so. Even with too much combat, the dialogue saves it somewhat. I like roleplaying. Enough to overcome gameplay apparently.

Hm. Well then this might be worth f2p afterall.

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Originally Posted by Lynk Former

Stuff is still a hell of a lot more convenient for F2P folks than it was for subscribers that started with the game.

In what ways?

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Partially incorrect, you can still get cool stuff, just not cool end game stuff and gear that'll allow you to do the really high end operations... since if you really cared about that kind of stuff, you'd subscribe anyway.

True.

Well it's just that I'm so used to...for example BioWare social's SuperHero City...basically until you pay for some items (of which there are TONS) you will have to go without. So if you met another Lv 255 who played just as long as you but that guy spent his inheritance (or moth's rent at least) on all that "stuff" all along, you can bet you're getting stomped.

So, you can more or less go head to head with others that are equivalent to your character and not have to be concerned that everyone else out-stats you by like 2X, 3X or 10X?

Because that gets ridiculous when you're the kickball for all the other people in your level range.

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Limited, yes. Off limits, no. Though I don't really know what you mean by fun missions since that varies from person to person.

It (like most of what I said but snipped) is what I have come to generally expect in F2P. As I said above, you could have a raid but because of how it is structured, you wouldn't be able to do jack squat more or less.

Or in some of these games where you have a "final campaign" but because you didn't put any $$$ in for their "credits", you're S.O.L. in some way or another if there is any kind of time constraint, or some item is required that costs "credits", or what have you. Or in still other games you have daily missions but select missions are not available and limits the amount of income/rewards you can receive per day. Sort of like the XP in post above, but reaches into more areas.

I'm glad to see they aren't as oppressive about it and have taken time to, you know, really balance it out.

We'll murder them all, amid laughter and merriment...except for the few we take home to experiment!

It's not perfect, but it's not anywhere near as bad as people are saying it is... plus the subscribers are giving the relevant feedback to make sure that it isn't unfair for F2P people.

With that said, F2P isn't meant to be a free ride, it's meant to be the minimum people need to enjoy the game. If people really want to get into the involved competitive aspect of PvP or the involved cooperative aspect of engame PvE, then it's only natural you become a paying subscriber because those parts of the game are... as I said... ery involved and require you to be pretty damn invested in the game, enough to want to PAY for it.

As for the rest of it, subscribers want the F2P folks to be happy cause we like having them around and we want people to enjoy the game. That's why the subscribers have been the ones to demand the suggestions that BioWare has actually taken to heart and have changed the F2P game accordingly because subsribers know better than anyone else what is needed, minimum, to enjoy the game.

back as a subscriber...much better now. f2p is weird i guess it gets you through to probably level 50 after that its worth it to subscribe.

Battle is a pure form of expression. It is heart and discipline, reduced to movement and motion. In battle, the words are swept away, giving way to actions-- mercy, sacrifice, anger, fear. These are pure moments of expression.

yeah it's nice that they do that, and they're listening to the subscribers.

Battle is a pure form of expression. It is heart and discipline, reduced to movement and motion. In battle, the words are swept away, giving way to actions-- mercy, sacrifice, anger, fear. These are pure moments of expression.

now i got like 952 cartel coins, what do i spend them on...hmm. nothing even looks worth spending it on lol maybe the stap? i just dont know! ahh!!! lol

Battle is a pure form of expression. It is heart and discipline, reduced to movement and motion. In battle, the words are swept away, giving way to actions-- mercy, sacrifice, anger, fear. These are pure moments of expression.

rocket boots, they are so much cheaper with cartel coins than credits. Look thru your legacy and see what you can buy with them as things seem to be cheaper with coins than credits.

But I mention rocket boots because they let you get thru places faster where your speeder won't let you. Plus they are just cool

You have a decent chance of getting a speeder with the packs, I bought 4 packs and have 3 Crimons Claws and a Stap out of them. The packs also drop some good crafting material almost 90% of the time. At least they did for me.

ok i got a stap and revan style robe/skirt. lol the stap is pretty sick.

Battle is a pure form of expression. It is heart and discipline, reduced to movement and motion. In battle, the words are swept away, giving way to actions-- mercy, sacrifice, anger, fear. These are pure moments of expression.

Sorry opening poster but you are way off the mark, i think Bioware is doing fine with the free to play and Lord of the Rings is a grind fest, a lousy telling of the wonderful stories and a waste of time. So please dont advise us and Bioware to do what is clearly the wrong way to go. It is fine to have it as it is and I am sure that the Free to Play set up will work well for us sorry to disagree. You are welcome to your opinion but it is not fact because you may think it Have a nice day

There is no Chaos, There is Harmony.
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1. Rocket Boost (agree with Eefluxx)
2. Unlocking speeder license sooner for lower level toons. It was great having a level 50 speeder on my level 40 Knight. It made Voss, Belsavis and Hoth so much easier and faster.
3. Repair droid - This is a must for anyone that does Ops, but I even like it on my lower levels as you can buy medpacs from the droid and sell your junk.
4. XP Boost - Playing a new toon trying to get to 50 as fast as possible. This makes is easy.
5. Speed up the cool down on Quick Travel.

I like the packs too, but I get a speeder, dancers top and torso armor in every pack....You can't give away those and you can't sell them to a vendor.

They don't have me bugging them to go run go do datacron runs, dailies, daily heroics, hmfps, world bosses and Ops like you do. There was a time when I was running 3 and 4 Ops a week, I didn't have time for the other class stories becaue I was too busy running Ops and Dailies on 2 toons.

Even if he didn't, playing through all 8 character stories takes time... especially when you replay a story for a different alignment. That would be a grand total of 16 characters... then you just have to replay for old times sake. (Yes, yes... I'm a total alt-a-holic. )

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Originally Posted by Rogue15

back as a subscriber...much better now. f2p is weird i guess it gets you through to probably level 50 after that its worth it to subscribe.

Sure, until you run out of money because you have no job.
But in all seriousness, even at 50 if you're still a F2P, it's not too bad... especially with the Cartel unlocks enabling you to have full access to FPs and Operations for what is it... a week? Two weeks?

And if you're referring to the action bar thing, I personally only use two action bars as a P2P... I don't use most of the "general" class abilities because most of them are aimed at getting you to 10 and then after that you generally should be using advanced class abilities... there are some circumstances where the general class abilities are useful, like for a Warrior who can use Saber Strikes to build rage regardless of Advanced Class.

That being said, I did use up all of my bars, one for Healing Flashpoints and Operations and World Bosses, two for general gameplay (which is mostly all I do, due to my alt-a-holic nature) and then a last one for PVP that absolutely NEVER got used. xD Then they added an extra two for P2P and I was like... dafuq do I do with these two empty bars?! ._. So I filled them up with pets and speeders so they wouldn't be blank.

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Originally Posted by Pho3nix

Hmm... might have to look into that. Still haven't figured out how to add money on my paypal.

It's like I never left. There have been changes, obviously, mostly really good ones, but I'm really enjoying playing again so far. I haven't gone back to any of my old characters yet, instead playing around with new ones, but now I'm wondering why I stopped playing in the first place.

It's like I never left. There have been changes, obviously, mostly really good ones, but I'm really enjoying playing again so far. I haven't gone back to any of my old characters yet, instead playing around with new ones, but now I'm wondering why I stopped playing in the first place.

You should catch Jeff, Mav or myself on skype so we can re-add your toons back into the guilds. Also www.thewalkingcarpets.com is our official guild site.